Brightly illustrated and well meant, but sketchy at best.
Case studies in how air can carry small particles and other things—sometimes for surprising distances.
Aiming to raise awareness of atmospheric pollution and interest in promoting cleaner air, Romito describes three historical incidents: the eruption of Indonesia’s Krakatoa in 1883 (an example of nature itself changing the air with globe-spanning clouds of ash), the “Black Sunday” dust storm of 1935 in the U.S., and London’s “Great Smog” of 1952. The author does note that the last two—both of which were caused by humans—resulted in major government remediation efforts. But along with underestimating the understanding of her intended audience by vaguely ascribing the Dust Bowl to “a kind of farming [the land] was not meant for,” she doesn’t explain just how suggested activities such as using less energy at home or starting a neighborhood “eco-friendly campaign” might help keep the air cleaner. Also, aside from coal, she neglects to mention fossil fuels, relegates indoor pollution to a glancing reference in her author’s note, and loses the plot midcourse with a sudden switch of topic to how air carries seeds, nice odors, and animal sounds. The theme that air moves is aptly conveyed in the illustrations; Cabassa places a small, racially diverse cast of human figures in glowing images of land and sky that are lit up with swirls and spatters of color.
Brightly illustrated and well meant, but sketchy at best. (glossary, bibliography, index) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9780823455003
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: today
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A good overview of this complex, essential organ, with an energetic seasoning of silliness.
An introduction to the lead guitar and vocalist for the Brainiacs—the human brain.
The brain (familiar to readers of Seluk’s “The Awkward Yeti” webcomic, which spun off the adult title Heart and Brain, 2015) looks like a dodgeball with arms and legs—pinkish, sturdy, and roundish, with a pair of square-framed spectacles bestowing an air of importance and hipness. Other organs of the body—tongue, lungs, stomach, muscle, and heart—are featured as members of the brain’s rock band (the verso of the dust jacket is a poster of the band). Seluk’s breezy, conversational prose and brightly colored, boldly outlined cartoon illustrations deliver basic information. The brain’s role in keeping the heart beating and other automatic functions, directing body movements, interpreting sights and sounds, remembering smells and tastes, and regulating sleep and hunger are all explained, prose augmented by dialogue balloons and information sidebars. Seluk points out, importantly, that feelings originate in the brain: “You can control how you react…but your feelings happen no matter what.” The parodied album covers on the front endpapers (including the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Green Day, Run DMC, Queen, Nirvana) will amuse parents—or at least grandparents—and the rear endpapers serve up band members’ clever social media and texting screenshots. Backmatter includes a glossary and further brain trivia but no resources or bibliography.
A good overview of this complex, essential organ, with an energetic seasoning of silliness. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-16700-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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